Spanish Orange Isopods

[Elytra and Antenna]

The blue ones look very cool but unfortunately they are not a color variety and are difficult to maintain. Also you have to maintain a gray culture since the infected ones die. The ones that turn blue are infected with an iridovirus.

 

[bugmankeith]

Can these survive in the wild with the regular gray isopods?

 

[Gigas]

i'll say yes but here temperature requirements are different, the orange ones may suffer adversly at greys temperature yet the grays may benefiet from the orange temperature levels

 

[OldHag]

I keep my oranges, greys, rolly pollies, sowbugs, woodlice and all of the above at the same temps, in the same room and they breed like wildfire!!
I got some from Graham a few months back and now Im over run with those orange babies!!
I have wild caught rolly pollies that are popping out babies so fast I can't get rid of them fast enought to keep the populations under control!!

I also have a cool looking wood lice that is a brick red with mottled greys in it that I found ONE Of. I now have THOUSANDS of them They range in color from bright orange to brick red to a dusty grey/red. Very pretty varigated colorings. They "seem" to be breeding true now. Ive been separating the colored ones from the greys and now the babies all seem to be of the colored variety. Maybe Ill make a post about them complete with pictures...

 

[bugmankeith]

I too have found brick red and orange sowbugs, one even yellow with gray spots.

I never keep the ones I find, if they are left in the wild hopefully they breed to make more of that color.

 

[zinto]

Paul at Planet Porcellio ( http://www.angelfire.com/planet/porcellio/pix/ ) is an awesome guy and has a wide variety of isopods available. His passion for these little guys is amazing and therefore has profound knowledge of them. I've got a culture of the Grey Porcellio in with my millipedes. They're breeding like rabbits! Really interesting little guys though.

 

[IguanaMama]

Hey Michelle, I'd really like some of those brick red ones, why don't you bring some of those to Arachnocon, I'm sure you'll find something at my table you'd like to trade with me for them--spider earrings? a big rubber B. smithi??

 

[bugmankeith]

Ok I was wrong, the picture I posted is of the "Salt & Pepper" coloration. Philoscia muscorum are common by me also.

 

[kraken]

A guy I know local has blue isopods he found.He has swarms of them now,but they are infected with a virus,that what makes them blue....heres the thread
http://www.arachnoboards.com/ab/showthread.php?t=61298&highlight=blue+isopods
I may be able to email him and get a pic or get him to post one

 

[rattler_mt]

the normal purpleish grey ones found around here are easy to establish(after some trial and error). i make sure the soil aint to wet and give them magnolia leaves(which is odd since magnolias are not native to MT) they love the leaves and eat everything but the large veins and stems. i discovered this by accident when i put the leaves(normally used for leaf litter in my dart frog and mantella tanks) in so that i could easily transfer the lil guys from their tank to the frog tanks as i use them as a feeder.......a month later, "skeleton" leaves and babies everywhere

we have some mottled ones and "rolly polly's" also, going to try them next

 

[BurrowDweller]

When I was younger my cousins and I use to catch tons of isopods around my grandparents house. Curious thing was that the house was made out of red brick and a high percentage of the isopods we caught around the foundation were a reddish color. They still own the house so the next time I am up that way I will have to see if I can find some again.